Since I have finished my programming tutorials and am about to start making games with Unity, I thought it was appropriate to research how to make video games. Learning how to make games is very important especially, if you are thinking about becoming a game designer. I did what any seriously interested in game design would do, which was look up information on the web.
I searched the web and found an article called How to Make a Video Game. Creating a game is not a simple and quick process. The article went through some steps that anyone could follow. The first step is to envision the game. You can’t just jump into making the first game that pops into your head. You need to lay down the framework before getting into the development. I learned a few basics that are fundamental to making of a video game. First, you need to know the genre of the game and the budget. After you have determined that you have to take in consideration the games’ plot, length, and most important your experience. You can’t try and make a big complex game if your a beginner. You need to know your limitations and use them to your advantage. After you have envisioned your game, then you can figure out what kind of software would best suit your needs. GameMaker and Unity aren’t the only programs that you can use. There are many other programs that may better suit your needs but you have to be aware that some cost money. Every program works differently, so you would have to explore. After determining your vision and software, then comes the fun but challenging part, designing your characters and the games’ environment. I know that Photoshop can be helpful, but also know that it is expensive. You can use programs like Gimp to design characters for a 2D game. What I didn’t know that you can use a free program called Maya for your 3D modeling desires. I thought that you had to pay for that and blender. One of the most important things I learned is that after you’ve built your game there are two more things that you have to do. The first time is to try out your game to find out problems. Then you can export your game and share with the world for feedback. How to make a game:
Widder, Brandon. “How to Make a Video Game (Experience Not Required).” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 8 May 2017, www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/how-to-make-a-video-game/.
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So, in class I have finally finished the programming tutorials and it got me thinking about whether or not I should look into getting a job in programming. But before I decide I wanted to know the pay that I could get versus other careers in the game design field. I want a job that both pays well and that I enjoy. I decided to research possible careers in programming and the pay I could receive.
I found an article called Computer Programmer Salary that had a lot of information. They had six different sections all about salary that helped me understand the money situation better. I learned that the average wage of a programmer in the US as a whole is $38.39. That is way above the minimum wage. According to the site, if you want a high paying programming, the best places to live are Seattle, New Mexico, California, and the District of Columbia. So, if I want to earn a lot of money, I might need to move to California. It is good to learn that most of the jobs are full time at 79% versus part time at 21%. I also learned that when just starting out, that the pay is about $22/hour and the salary is about $46K a year. Compared to other technology careers, programmers make 60% less a year than the other careers and rank at 79 of all careers, which is something to think about. Another thing I learned is that North Carolina is ranked #11 out of all 50 states for salary. The real question to decide is whether I want a career that I like or one that pays very well. Programming money
So, in class I am almost done with the C# tutorials and I am at the last section. In the section before, there was a tutorial on properties. Properties come up in many of the tutorials, so I wanted to fully understand how and when to use them. Properties are a very important aspect of code and I wanted more clarification on them.
I found a couple articles on properties called Properties (C# Programming Guide), which gave some insight to properties and also had sub articles on specific parts. I learned that properties can be one of three kinds: write-only, read-write, read-only. Read-only have only the get accessor, while read-white has both the get and set accessor. Write-only has only the set accessor. Get and set property accessors have different uses. Set property accessors are used for assigning values, while get property accessors are for returning the property value. Each property has different accessibility levels. Auto-implemented properties are properties that can be implemented without a accessor code. Properties are a way to set and get values while not showing verification code. I learned that when you want to define a value that being assigned using the set accessor, you use the keyword value. I wanted to know more specifically on how to use properties so I clicked on one of the sub articles that was on using properties called Using Properties (C# Programming Guide). I learned that properties are a combination on methods and fields. You can do many things with properties: changing values of fields, validate data, figure out if data is from other sources, and do things when data has been changed. To declare a property, you have to specifying the access, then put the type and the name, then put a code block with either a set or get accessor. There are many access modifiers that property can have. They can be private, public, protected, internal, private protected, or protected internal. Properties can also be declared abstract, static, or virtual. Points about Properties:
“Properties (C# Programming Guide).” Microsoft Docs, docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/classes-and-structs/properties. “Using Properties (C# Programming Guide).” Microsoft Docs, docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/classes-and-structs/using-properties. So, in class we are still doing C# tutorials and I am at the second section. I recently finished a tutorial on variable scopes. I feel that variable scopes will come up later in life when I’m coding, so they are very important. I wanted to know more about them and be able to understand them. I went exploring for articles specifically on variable scopes.
I found an article called C# Variable Scopes, which specifically talked about scopes. I learned that a variable’s scope is what controls the visibility of the rest of the code. Most variable are defined in methods, which means the variable's scope is that method, but that’s only once it’s defined. This means that after the method, the variable is ineffective because the code just goes to the next method. I also learned that there are three kinds of scopes. They are method-level, nested, and class. Method-level scopes’ variables are defined inside a method. The variables are only used in that method and can’t be used anywhere else. Nested scopes’ variables can be used out of their code blocks, unlike method-level, which can be used within nested scopes and methods. Class-level scopes’ variables can be used anywhere in the class. Variable Scopes:
Works Cited C# Variable Scopes, www.blackwasp.co.uk/CSharpVariableScopes.aspx. |
AuthorI'm a student at Durham School of the Arts, and currently in the Game Art Design pathway. I like playing the Sims 4, playing with dogs, and riding horses. This blog will reflect my learning and discoveries. Archives
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